Happy trails: Passing cars leave streaks of color from their headlights and brake lights Saturday night in front of Cowboy's Saloon on North Ninth Street in Gallup. The well-known bar will soon be closing it's doors for good. (Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent)

4 Decades of complaints later--Cowboys Saloon to soon serve its last drop of alcohol

By Bill Donovan

Staff Writer

GALLUP--The Cowboys Saloon will soon be closing.

State liquor director Gary Tomada said Monday that his office has received an application from the owner of the bar, Benny Vargas, for a transfer of its license to the new Appleby's, which is under construction near Wal-Mart.

The transfer request is expected to be approved in part because of the city's efforts to show support to the new restaurant and in part, because of the multiple complaints that have been raised against the bar over the past four decades.

The bar, which at one time went under the name Eddie's Club, has come under severe criticism in recent years by residents of the Northside for problems associated with its clientele and for selling fortified wine to alcoholics.

Vargas also owns another liquor license in town the Superbowl on Second Street but Tomada said the state has received no application for a transfer of that license.  

While Vargas declined to speak with The Independent on the license transfer, the word within the liquor industry is that he sold the license for between $200,000 and $225,000, which, if true, would mark the highest a liquor license has ever sold for in Gallup.

The benchmark in the past was $185,000.

There were reports earlier this year that Appleby's was having problems getting a liquor license and may have had to open with just a beer and wine license when it opened this summer.

Several owners of liquor licenses in this area reported that representatives of the company had approached them about buying their license, offering more than $200,000 but most liquor licenses were not up for sale.

In most cases, an application for a liquor license transfer takes about four months from start to finish.

Tomada said the state must first give preliminary approval after a telephonic hearing to determine if the new applicant meets various state requirements, such as being a certain distance away from a church or a school.

Once preliminary approval is given, the matter goes to the local government, which holds a public hearing to get support or opposition to the request. Once that occurs, the matter goes back to the state for final approval.

City officials have indicated that the liquor license request is expected to have no problem getting approved by the city council because of the complaints in the past against the Cowboy Saloon and because like in the case of the liquor transfer recently to King Dragon Restaurant the license will be going from a bar to a restaurant.

BACK

Send mail to brboyd80@yahoo.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2005 Na' Nizhoozhi Center Inc.
Last modified: May 24, 2005